CRNI’s 2011 Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning was given to Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Ulhaque, better known as Zunar.
Zunar has endured 10 years of constant harassment and censorship by the State for cartoons critical of senior government officials. During this span factories producing his titles have been raided, vendors have been warned not to sell his titles, and the Malaysian government has seized his books and magazines. In addition, Zunar has been detained repeatedly, and threatened with legals charges of sedition.
He has fought back by initiating legal challenges to his detention and to the seizing of his titles, which are now working their way through the Malaysian courts, and by continuing his journalism and cartooning in defiance of all efforts to intimidate and silence him.